


The Future is Ours

by personqwer



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Friendship, Inazuma Eleven Future, Other, Tfw u get attached to a cancelled game, The power of friendship, also this is a, i guess, or as I like to call it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:52:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8115319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/personqwer/pseuds/personqwer
Summary: Over a century into the future, soccer is as popular as ever, and new versions of the game come to be as new and more powerful technology arrives! However, when the power to manipulate time itself falls into the hands of the wrong people, soccer as we know it may drastically change. Endou Kanon, the great-great grandson of Endou Mamoru, soon finds himself in the middle of a confidential government crisis that threatens not only soccer, but the world and lives of everyone across time.





	1. The Beginning of a True Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> To avoid any confusion, this fic is inspired almost exclusively by the unreleased mobile game, Inazuma Eleven Future. I saw too much potential in it to simply leave it alone to rot in history, and Kanon's other appearances in the first movie and in some of the games was hardly a substitute for what was shown in the animated trailer for the game. So this story will hopefully fill the void in my heart that must know more about Kanon's life and his era, and hopefully you will enjoy it too!

_Doo-doo-doo! Doo-doo-doo!_

The funky tune of an alarm app on a smartphone rang. The bright screen lit up, revealing its position on the floor, charging. The owner of the phone rolled over and groaned, and clumsily reached down to tap the screen in attempt to shut the alarm off. After a few unsuccessful taps, the young boy opened his eyes and peeked down at the screen to get a better look.

The tune continued to play louder, but the boy read the time that was displayed on the app. It was 6:34, according to the numbers on-screen. It was a Monday morning, but not just any Monday morning; it was the first day of school, and the boy realized today was the day he'd finally enter Raimon Junior High. 

He snapped awake, and kicked the blankets off of himself in an instant with a wide grin. The boy’s name was Endou Kanon, and joining the Raimon Soccer Club and following in the footsteps of his great-great grandfather was his life dream. It was Endou Mamoru who created the soccer club, after all, and Raimon’s century-long legacy of being a legendary soccer school was nothing to sneeze at.  
Kanon sat up, and hopped out of bed, reaching down to shut off his alarm. He pulled open his drawers to change into his uniform: a navy blue uniform with a yellow trim, emblazoned with a lightning bolt symbol on the back. He changed as quickly as he could, then grabbed his phone out of the charger, and quietly headed downstairs to eat breakfast.

His mother, Endou Momoko, was already awake and packing his lunch. She smiled at Kanon as he headed down the stairs.

“Awake already?” She asked, “School doesn’t start for a while, you have time to sleep in a little.”

Kanon shook his head, still smiling, “No, mom, I have to be awake and ready to get there as fast as possible! I want to join the club before my first classes!” He bounced up and down excitedly, “This is it, mom! I finally get to join the soccer club! What was it like? It was fun, right?” 

Momoko chuckled, and ruffled her son’s messy hair. “It certainly was. I'm sure you'll love it just as much- if not more than I did when I was your age. Now… You're missing something… Oh!”

She reached into the pocket on her skirt, and pulled out a red elastic headband. Kanon’s eyes lit up and his expression became bright as she pulled the headband down over his head, and back up onto his forehead. His dark hair stuck up straight now, out of his face.

“There you go. You can't be an Endou in a soccer club without a headband!” She pinched Kanon’s cheeks, making him laugh and swat lightly at her hands.

“Mom! I get it! Thank you!” He pulled away from her affection, and skipped past her to make himself some quick cereal.

He poured Cheerios into a plastic bowl, and didn't even pour milk in before he started to eat it with a spoon. Before his mother could protest, he pulled the milk out of the fridge, finished the Cheerios, and poured milk directly into his mouth. He had finished his breakfast, and put the milk away. 

Momoko smiled, sighing slightly, “You're something, Kanon.. You'd better head out. Don't want to miss the train.”

Kanon nodded, grabbed his lunchbox and stuffed it into his backpack. “Thank you momma! I'll see you after practice!” 

Kanon headed out the door now, closing and relocking his front door before jogging out to the nearest train stop. It was a few blocks away from his neighborhood, in which he arrived just as a magnet train had arrived. The stop was a raised platform over the sidewalk, resembling a very large bus stop mixed with an outside train station. The train’s rails were built over the pre-existing roads, so space and traffic wasn’t an issue.

Kanon climbed the stairs, pulled a coin out of his pocket, and climbed onto the slick magnet train after inserting the coin into a payment slot on the inside.

He sat down in the first open seat he could find, which was right next to a boy around his age, with strikingly silver hair. He wore the same uniform as Kanon.

The train took off at high speed, leaving Kanon time to think. He glanced over at the boy next to him, who was simply staring out the window. He noticed their uniforms matched.

“Oh… Are you going to Raimon?” Kanon asked curiously. The boy looked over at him.. His light purple eyes seemed to be full of mystery. He nodded.

Kanon smiled, “Me too! And I'm going to join the soccer club! Today’s my first day of my first year!”

“Oh… You too?” The boy asked back. He seemed to soften up a little. “I'm joining too. I'm a first year as well..”

“Really? Then we might even be in some classes together! My name is Endou Kanon! But you can call me Kanon!” How exciting, he was making his very first friend in middle school.

“... _Endou_?” The boy asked, now studying Kanon’s face. “As in… _That_ Endou family?”

Kanon was surprised that someone knew his family… He always knew his great-great grandfather was famous in the soccer community, but that was so many years ago. Almost nobody pointed out that detail.

“Uh, yeah! If you mean Endou Mamoru, he was my great-great grandfather! I want to be just like him one day!” Kanon said, “How’d you know?”

“Mm… No reason. My brother played soccer. I'm Shiratori Shiryuu. Good to meet you.” Shiratori said, looking back up at Kanon with a faint smile. 

“Shiratori! Good to meet you too! I hope we do great in the soccer club.. We might even make it to the internationals one day!” Kanon replied, eagerly adjusting his backpack straps.

Shiratori smiled a little wider, and nodded, “Yeah, hopefully!”

-

The train stopped not far from Raimon. With having made a new friend willing to go register for the soccer club with him, Kanon was in high spirits. He got off the train with Shiratori in tow, and the two of them headed for the large, impressive soccer club building near the school. The train behind them took off once more, zooming and coiling around the sleek buildings in the distance to get to it's next stop.

Kanon approached the door to the soccer club building, and carefully opened it. He stepped inside, holding the door for Shiratori.

Shiratori adjusted his bag as he looked around. “Seem’s a little quiet, doesn’t it?” He said, with Kanon letting the door close behind them. Kanon agreed, it seemed strangely empty for a club supposedly large. There was even a second team, according to his mother.

Kanon was about to reply, but was startled by the door behind him opening again. He turned around to see a very large guy, a third-year, approach them after stepping inside.

“Oh, you two first years?” The large student asked. Kanon noted that his afro of hair looked very fluffy, almost like a groomed French poodle, though on the sides it was shaved. Everything else about this upperclassman was intimidating, even his lime green glasses.

“O-Oh, yeah!” Kanon stammered, “We wanted to join the soccer club…”

“Haha, thought so! Well, you two came to the right place, but the wrong time. Most members of the club don't come in this early on the first day of school. It's still thirty minutes to the first bell!” He laughed, crossing his thick arms. At least he seemed friendly, it didn't take long for Kanon to start to relax, as he did not seem angry.

Shiratori looked down, “...Yeah.” He said quietly.

“I guess we were a little… Eager. But I really want to join! I'm Endou Kanon!” Kanon said, bowing his head. “But you can call me Kanon!”

“Kumano Benkei! I'm a third-year this year, and I'm your captain as of right now! As well as the current owner of the Ace Striker title!” Kumano grinned wide, and then looked at Kanon to address him again.

“Endou, huh? You wouldn't so happen to be related to the principal, would you?” He asked, scratching his chin.

Kanon blinked. He almost forgot, his father was the principal of Raimon! 

“Ah, uh… Yeah! I don't talk to him much though… He and my mom don't live together.” Kanon said, twiddling his thumbs. Shiratori looked up again.

“Ooh, family stuff. No problem, I won't ask further. Welcome to the club, Kanon. What about you?” Kumano looked over at Shiratori.

“... I'm Shiratori Shiryuu. I wanted to join too… I like soccer.” He said, looking up at Kumano with an unreadable expression. Kumano simply smiled.

“...Straight and to the point, I like ya!” Kumano said, now patting both the new recruits on the shoulder. “Since you're both here this early like me, I suppose we can go ahead and see what you got! Follow me outside!” 

“Woah, already? Okay! Come on, Shiratori!” Kanon followed closely after Kumano. Shiratori was not far behind, and soon the three of the were out on Raimon’s soccer field.

Kumano went to fish a soccer ball out of one of the existing bins, and asked, “So, what position are you two wanting to try?”

“Defender.” Shiratori said, taking off his bag to put it against the wall, “It seems like something I could do.”

Kanon had to think about it. He knew he loved soccer… But he really wasn't good enough to specialize in a position. Ever since he was little all he did was kick a ball around, and catch the ball when his mom kicked it at him when they played.

Kanon remembered that his great-great grandfather was a legendary goalkeeper, and libero. He perked up and said, “Maybe I could try out… Goalkeeper? I'm not sure…”

“Sound’s good to me. It's always good to have extras of everything, even goalies!” Kumano dropped a soccer ball on the ground, and placed his foot on top. “Now, we don't need to change into uniform since this is just a short demonstration… But! Shiratori- you try and steal the ball from me, and Kanon, try to stop my shoot!”

Kanon nodded, and headed back to the goalkeeper position. Shiratori wordlessly stood in front of him, between him and Kumano further up field.

“ _Now!_ ” Kumano said, and started dribbling the ball towards the goal. Shiratori didn't hesitate to engage Kumano, attempting to kick the ball away from him and claim it.

However, his attempts were fruitless, as Kumano had amazing form, and he danced with the ball with such skill it was as if the soccer ball was magnetically attracted to his legs. He spun around, and ran past Shiratori while calling, “You're too clumsy, but good try!”

Kanon braced himself, his heart racing. His first trial, albeit small, was starting. This was to be his very first step into the world of soccer for real, and his senpai before him had obviously been playing for years.

“Incoming!” Kumano called out as he kicked the ball.

Kanon froze in place, his heart nearly stopping as the ball whizzed past his head like a bullet, faster than he could possibly react. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had already failed. He looked down beside him to see the ball slowly rolling back out the way it came, before stopping at the white line.

“I… What…” Kanon was completely off guard. His bewilderment seemed to amuse Kumano, who laughed and approached Kanon to pat him on the back. 

“Hey, don't worry! This is your first time in a serious soccer club, isn't it? Don't feel bad if you can't react as fast as the ball comes at you- it takes lot's of practice.” Kumano said, looking over at Shiratori as well. “Both of you have potential from what I can see. You both just gotta train to get there!”

Kanon shook himself back to reality, and nodded a bit. Shiratori didn't say anything and went to pick his bag back up. 

“I'll see you in class, maybe, Kanon.” Shiratori said, before walking away. Kanon waved him off.

“You'd better go after him, Kanon! I remember getting lost on campus my first day, so it's good to find your classes early. Practice is right after school, kay?” Kumano said, smiling reassuringly at Kanon.

“Yeah! Thank you so much again, I can't wait to play soccer with you all!” Kanon smiled back, and ran off in the direction Shiratori went to find where his first class was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiratori and Kumano are actually existing characters, not OCs. They were the only other two characters revealed for Inazuma Eleven Future that had confirmed names. Shiratori even appeared briefly in the Ogre version of Inazuma Eleven 3!


	2. Time

Soldiers are meant to obey orders, no matter the circumstance. Even if a mission transcends time itself… In order to get their way, the council needed to bend time to their whim.

Baddap Sleed was the soldiers’ name. He was old, and withered in the year 2140. He was fixty-five years old, and his job was to potentially erase his own existence.

Baddap stood around the corner of his target, in the dead of night. He reached up and pressed his finger against his earpiece to better hear his nameless commander. 

_Go,_ said the commander, _The doctor is away._

Baddap said nothing, and made his move. He turned the corner to approach the unassuming building, being passed off as a simple house. He knew better, the higher-ups had informed him while this was Dr. Crossword Aruno’s house, the house’s basement was the location of experiments that would make, or perhaps break, history.

He knew his commander had already hacked into the door to unlock it, and opened it as quietly as he could. It didn't squeak, suggesting the house wasn't that old. Closing the door behind him, Baddap scratched his grizzled chin, and continued onward.

With specific instructions whispered in his ear, he found it easy to find the hidden basement door. A specific book had to be pulled out of the bookshelf for it to swing open and reveal a staircase down- a classic. He proceeded downward to the hidden lab.

The light turned on automatically, revealing a large, dark room. The walls were coated with papers and diagrams, and approaching the desk revealed even more. Baddap glanced over a few documents the doctor had scribbled on. 

_The ravings of a madman,_ Baddap thought, _though only a madman could come up with a functioning time machine._

The other side of the room was taken up by a bizarre looking contraption. It was a circular raised panel on the ground, surrounded on all sides and on top by a matrix of metal, wires, and all sorts of machines most people were not capable of understanding. One section of the wall had a simple doorknob on it, which Baddap found amusing.

 _Don't stand there and admire it,_ his commander whispered in his ear, _Copy the data for its technology from his computer. We don't have much time._

Baddap was obedient, and stepped away from the unattractive time machine, and approached Dr. Aruno’s computer. He nudged the wireless mouse to turn the screen on. A password was needed in order to access everything, but Baddap had that covered already. Taking a bulky USB drive out of his pocket, he sat down at the computer chair, and plugged the drive into the side of the computer. 

The program inside of the drive was built specifically to hack this particular computer, and bypassed all of Dr. Aruno’s password protections. Without Baddap having to do a thing, it worked it's magic and started copying all of Dr. Aruno’s files onto it, from refined blueprints, to theories and equations, everything. 

Baddap stood up quickly, he had heard the front door open. He grabbed the firearm at his belt, hidden under his coat, and pointed it at the door to which he came from.

As soon as the owner of the house stepped down to investigate, he froze in his tracks as he noticed the intruder. Baddap sighed.

“Stay where you are, Dr. Aruno.” Baddap warned harshly. 

The young doctor shook, feverishly asking, “W-who are you? What do you-?!” He looked at his computer being invaded, “Wait… You can't possibly be…?!”

“I'm taking your research on the time machine,” Baddap said, “Yes. It's for a greater cause than you know.”

“N-No, you can't, whoever the hell you are! My research isn't complete, the time machine isn't yet stable… You could.. You could…!”

“If we create a paradox in space-time, then we wouldn't be standing here chatting.” Baddap placed his finger on the trigger, causing the wiry scientist to whimper and put his hands up. With the copying of the files completed, he pulled the USB out of the computer, and put it back into his pocket. “You do anything, and I kill you.”

 _He's seen your face. We can't have police looking for us… You might have to…_ The voice in his ear said.

 _I know already._ Baddap thought to himself.

Baddap stepped back, and opened the door to the time machine, stepping inside and closing it. He already knew this time machine worked. Inside sources had told him experiments with fruits, and even animals worked to show this time machine was at least 75% effective. 

“W-wait… No, you're crazy, man! You can't use that, I haven't tested it enough, not even on humans-!” Dr. Aruno cried, still fearfully frozen in place by the staircase. “I'm not sure it even works long distance properly without a connector artifact-”

Baddap didn't reply. He studied the inside of the time machine, noticing the inside part of the door had a keypad, and a screen, depicting what year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, and even coordinates of the location he wanted to arrive in. He punched in the year 2100, August 1st, 8:30 P.M. This was the date that was planned fifty years in advance. He punched in the coordinates to the inside of the secret base belonging to the council.

It was a do-or-die situation, and if this time machine worked, the plan would succeed beautifully, and the council would have access to time travel when they needed it most. 

It would also erase this timeline, as well as him, Baddap realized. But his younger self would live on, so it didn't matter to him anymore.

 _Good luck, soldier,_ his commander said to him, just as he pressed the “GO” button placed on the inside.

The machine zapped him, filling him with a brief wave of pain, but soon nothing hurt, and all of his senses went wack. The last thing he saw was a flash of all of the colors a human could see, swirling around him.

-

Eventually, he came to, and found himself in a dark room in what he hoped was the year 2100. 

He slowly got to his feet, taking notice of a slightly cracked door before him. He heard static in his ear, and poked at his earpiece. No signal, as he thought would happen. This earpiece was not built with alternate timelines in mind. He took it out if his ear, and placed it in his coat pocket. 

He walked towards the door, slowly recovering from the initial disorientation of the trip, and stepped into the dark hallway.

To his right stood a young soldier he recognized far too well. 

“So I'm here…” The young Baddap Sleed said, looking firm and emotionless. He held his hand out.

Baddap, the older, withered one, took a moment to really understand the situation as reality. He knew, for fifty years, that this mission was to happen and be conducted by him. He was told to give the USB drive containing future time travel research to his younger self, to seal the deal. He stared into the eyes of his younger self, remembering being in his exact situation. He knew his exact thoughts, from this exact moment, in the smaller shoes of who he used to be.

“You're impressed, but also slightly overwhelmed.” Baddap said to his younger self, “I remember.”

The younger Baddap nodded, unable to look away from his future self. “I am. You were.” The older one placed the USB drive into the younger’s palm. He closed his palm around it securely, never wanting to forget this moment.

“You won't forget yourself.” The elder Baddap smiled slightly.

The younger refused to emote, “Goodbye.”

“Yes.” 

Both Baddaps turned around, and marched in opposite directions. The younger pocketed the USB drive to transport it more safely to his higher-ups, and the elder was fading away into yellow light.

The elder one did not falter, though. He was trained to be fearless, even in death. But, he technically wasn't dying… Fading from existence didn't quite count.

Soon, he was gone before he reached the next corner. The younger turned his corner, there was a plan to be enacted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baddap was a little challenging to characterize, given he only appears in one movie. But I think I did okay!


	3. The Mysterious Boy

Cold… It was so cold.

A young boy woke up, shivering and sopping wet late at night. He was laying down on a wooden bench outside, the hood of his dark, cheap hoodie pulled over his head. It was raining hard, and had been for awhile. The boy’s teeth chattered, and he shut his eyes tight, trying to wake up, and remember how he got here.

But he couldn't. As he woke up, he only got more confused. He was aware he was human, at least, and could speak and read language. But nothing else came to him. He slowly sat up, squinting slightly when the bright light of a street lamp came into his field of vision. He blinked a few times, looking around and seeing nothing familiar.

He was cold, and it was wet. He was on a bench, and beside him was a streetlamp. A sidewalk was in front of him, and it was too dark and rainy to make out any more details. He looked at his hands, studying them for any clues, but he found none. He didn't seem injured; he touched his face, hoping to find anything that might clue him to why he didn't remember anything, but he was unharmed, so it seemed.

Looking down at himself, he saw that he wore a black hoodie, plain jeans and a pair of faded sneakers. Moving his feet around inside told him he was wearing socks, but they were soaked as well, and uncomfortable. 

He felt underneath his hoodie, and he was wearing a T-shirt too… He wasn't equipped for rain… At least not sleeping on a bench, soaking in the rain. He stood up out of the bench, looking down and back to it to see if he had anything else with him.. Anything to jog his memory, but no. The only things he had were the clothes on his back, and a whole lot of confusion. 

He started walking down the sidewalk, unsure of what to do. He had no idea who he was, where he was, or how he got there. But at least one thing was certain to him: he was freezing, and he needed to find somewhere dry to sleep.

He kept trying and trying to think of anything he knew as he walked, looking around, desperately hoping some of it looked familiar, but none of it did. It was just a street, and some buildings. Occasionally he'd see what looked like some kind of high-tech train whizz by overhead on a raised rail over the buildings, but that was it.

He felt sick to his stomach, he couldn't even remember his own name! What would he do if someone found him, and tried to help him? What was he supposed to do, let alone explain to them? But.. What did he have to lose?

Before he knew it, the young boy found himself in a very sleek, clean looking suburb. He knew he shouldn't, but he was cold… And in need of answers. He began to check each house’s front door, to see if they were unlocked. Surely someone would help some freezing kid, right? Someone.. Anyone..

He eventually was surprised to find one house actually unlocked. He stepped inside the front door, suddenly unsure of what to do now that he was actually inside of a house. He started off by closing the door behind him as carefully as he could, and looking around. A light on was upstairs somewhere, and he used that faint light to navigate to the kitchen not far from the front door. 

He took off his hoodie over his head, and wrung it out over the kitchen sink.. He was still shaking like a dog due to the cold, but the hoodie had soaked up most of the rainwater. 

What was he doing? He had just broke into a complete stranger’s house, and was now wringing his clothes out over their sink in the dark! What if they heard him, and called the police on him thinking he was a burglar? 

Despite these concerns, he had no other options. He had no memories, no place to go, and he was feeling hungry now. He had to hope that the people who lived here were friendly.

Once his hoodie was as dry as he could make it, he placed it on the countertop and took his shoes and socks off. Unable to do much about his wet sneakers, he held his socks in one hand as he moved his sneakers to the side, and then wrung out his socks over the sink. He put them back on once they were dry enough, not feeling comfortable and safe enough here to make himself at home. He looked around for some kind of towel to dry himself off, but only found a small hand towel. He grabbed it anyway and used it to dry off his face, and some of his hair, which was dripping.

He realized he had no idea what he looked like... The thought scared him. He really did have amnesia, didn't he? It was so unnerving to know that he just didn't know who he was… What happened to him to get him to this point?

He stood still, taking deep breaths, holding his cold hands in the hand towel to warm them up a little. What was he going to do…?

Then, the lights turned on.

The young boy never felt more fear in his life, he felt, then he did in that moment. He froze like a deer caught in headlights, looking up at the top of the stairs with wide eyes full of terror. He saw a young, pink-haired girl wearing soft teal pajamas with what looked like a cutesy teddy bear pattern on them. She looked just as scared and confused as he did, frozen, staring down at him with her hand still hovering over the light switch.

They stood there staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, until she finally spoke up.

“Who are you?” She asked, pressing with concern. She didn't seem angry, just scared, but not wanting to back down in her own home.

“I-I…” He started, momentarily startled by the sound of his own voice. “I.. I don't..”

“What?” The girl asked, slowly walking down the stairs, proceeding cautiously. 

“I-I don't know who I am.” The boy said, slowly putting the hand towel down on the counter. He was trapped, he couldn't run now. If he did, he’d look guilty of something, and be back where he started, out in the rain at night.

“...What?” The girl asked again, now downstairs, and watching the boy carefully from afar, “What do you mean?” She at least seemed more confused now, and didn't look at him like he was a thief or something. 

“I don't remember.” The boy said, speaking as sincerely as he could. If she believed him, then maybe…

“You.. Don't remember?” She asked, “Really?” 

“Yes, really.. I just.. I-I woke up earlier on a bench outside. I don't get it either, but I was cold, and I..” 

“Wow.. No, no, it's okay.. I believe you for now, you look awful… You're freezing… Stay there, I'll get you a towel…” She said, motioning with her hand for him to stay put as she ran back upstairs. 

For a moment, the boy was considering leaving now. For all he knew, she was lying and getting her parents or calling the cops. But no, she soon returned with a large red towel, and held it out to him with both hands.

The boy carefully took the towel from her, and wrapped it around himself. It was such a soft and velvety towel, and he felt warmer already. 

“T-thank you…” He said to her, shivering still.

She was about to reply, but then the boy’s stomach growled. He remembered how hungry he was, and swallowed the saliva beginning to pool in his mouth. 

“Mh… Sorry..” He said, looking down.

“You sound starving… I'll make you something warm, one second! Stay there!” She said, walking past him and opening up the cabinets to look for something. She pulled out what looked like a microwavable macaroni and cheese cup, and peeled off the top slightly.

“You don't need to…” The boy said, but the girl cut him off.

“No, don't worry, we have plenty of food!” She smiled at him, now taking the cheese packet out of the cup, and filling it up with tap water from the sink.

He couldn't help but feel a great sense of relief wash over him. The one house that was unlocked turned out to be friendly. He smiled a little, and said, “Thank you… Uh..”

“Emiko! Emiko Fujita! But you can call me Emiko!” The girl grinned at him, and put his meal into the microwave for a minute and a half. When she started it, she asked, “So, do you really not remember who you are?”

He shook his head, “No,” he said, “I promise I'm telling the truth, I only remember back to when I woke up outside in the rain a while ago… everything else is.. Just gone.” 

He stared at the polished wood floor, furrowing his brow as he tried yet again to remember past that point. But again, his attempts were fruitless. But the girl just nodded.

“It's okay, I don't think you're lying. I think I'm a pretty good judge of character, actually! You don't seem to be lying. Or you're a very good actor. But I'll go with option A!” Emiko said cheerfully. 

The microwaved beeped once, and Emiko silenced it by pressing the stop button, and taking out the boy’s macaroni. She placed the cup on the table, and then poured the powder cheese inside and began to stir it with a spoon. 

“Thank you… Thank you, so much..” The boy breathed, leaning against the wall. He was so tired all of a sudden…

“It's no problem! Here!” She handed the macaroni cup over to the boy, and he accepted it happily, holding it gingerly at the very top. 

“Here, I'll help you to the couch, it's in the other room…” Emiko said, leading the young boy down the hall and into the living room. The large leather couch looked like heaven to him, and he sat down on it in an instant. He ate his food quietly and politely despite how hungry he was.

Emiko sat down next to him. “So.. You don't have any place to go, huh? You being an amnesiac and all?”

He shook his head a little, not saying anything while his mouth was full. The hot food made him feel better.. He felt warmer as each bite went down his throat. He felt safer.

“Yeah… Man, I wonder where you came from.. It's not every day around here some ordinary kid like you wanders around without getting noticed.. I wonder… Did you run away from home?... Maybe not… The police would've found you by now, they have everyone ID’d to help track down people when needed here…” She tapped her finger to her bottom lip as she thought. 

The boy found her amusing, but admittedly wasn't paying attention. It just felt too nice to have finally eaten in who knows how long.

“Are you an alien?!” Emiko asked, grinning as she looked over at him.

He just stared at her, not sure if she was serious or not… But he honestly was in no position to deny that. He shrugged, and she simply smirked.

“Totally an alien. Hehe, well, whatever you are, you're welcome here!” Emiko pat the boy on his shoulder. “But.. You need to stay under the radar, who knows who's looking for you now, but I don't want to find out!”

The boy finished his food, and sat still for awhile, thinking. He had a place to stay now, but by the sounds of it, Emiko was the only person he could trust right now, and show himself to.

“... My mom and dad are out on a business trip right now, but should be home in a few days… So, you can't leave any signs of you living in this house, here-!” She took the empty cup and spoon from him, and went back to the kitchen to dispose of each before returning.

“You can sleep in my room! It’s big enough, and I lock it every night anyway… I should have a spare sleeping bag… Oh! Duh!” Emiko lightly smacked her forehead, “What am I going to call you?”

“Huh?” The boy looked up at her, confused for a second. 

“A name! You need a name! Do you have any preferences?” Emiko asked him.

“No..?” He replied, not really sure. Any name sounded good, honestly. Then he'd be able to at least say he had one.

“How about… Um… Nnnnn…..oohh-aaaay….. Noe! Noe is perfect!” She smiled, pointing at him. “I'll call you Noe for now, Noe!”

Noe, huh? Already he felt the name stick, and smiled at her. “I like it,” he said, “Thank you.”

“Where’s the bathroom?” Noe asked her. “Not that I need to.. I just… I want to see my face.”

“Oh, there’s one down the hall, to the left! We've got plenty, you'd find one eventually!” Emiko said with a chuckle, “You do that, while I prepare your sleeping bag!”

She soon walked back upstairs, a small skip to her step.

Noe followed her directions, and walked into the very nice bathroom. The toilet had a fuzzy purple cover on top.

But, what he cared about most now was his face. He stared deep into the mirror, tilting his head around and leaning close to get the best look at his own features. His dark eyes were angled, sharp and almond shaped. His skin was tan, while his hair was a striking platinum blond. His eyebrows had a peculiar zig-zag to them at the end. He slicked his bangs back, making his hair almost look like fire. But.. He was right in his earlier assessment, he was not injured. He felt like he should know his face.. Deep in his gut, he felt he should know something, but of course, nothing came of it. He stared into his own eyes for a few minutes, trying to see if he could remember anything, even if just a feeling…

“Hey, Noe! Done staring at yourself yet?” Emiko peeked into the bathroom and smiled at Noe, “I made your bed, and I got you a new change of clothes! Just, uh.. Not underwear, sorry! I'll work on it tomorrow!” 

Noe snapped out of his trance, and nodded. He'll figure it out later, when he was dry, and had clean clothes. He followed Emiko upstairs, and she let him into her large room first.

“Here we are!” She said, spreading her arms to gesture to all of her room, “Welcome to my room! Your sleeping bag is over there, and-” 

Emiko grabbed the new pair of jeans and extra T-shirt she had, and handed them to Noe. I'll wash and dry your clothes, don't worry. Here, I'll give you privacy.”

She stepped out of the room and closed the door. “Just tell me when you're done!”

Noe looked around. Emiko’s room was very large… She had deep red curtains covering her large window, and her dressers were white with faint flower patterns, her bed was large, and was covered in stuffed animals. 

As promised, though, beside her bed was a sleeping bag, that had pink kittens on it as a pattern. It looked warm, so Noe was thankful.

He did what she asked, though, and took off his wet shirt and jeans and changed into the new ones, that fit him pretty well. The shirt he had on now was black with a white star pattern throughout, and the new jeans he had on were skinnier, but still not uncomfortable. He'd live with the damp underwear for now. But the socks… No, they were terrible. He took those off, and piled up his dirty clothes, and opened the door back up.

“There you are! Here, I'll take that from you…” Emiko took the dirty clothes, and ran off with them again to presumably have them cleaned overnight.

When she returned, she said, “Now let's get to sleep, okay? It's past midnight… I'll go lock the door, like I was supposed to. Sure glad I didn't, though!” She said, walking back downstairs again.

Noe was thankful she forgot to lock the front door, too. Who knows would've happened if he went through another door, or wasn't even able to get a place to sleep tonight at all. He walked over to his sleeping back, and sat down on it. Already, it was heavenly compared to the bench he woke up on just a short while before. He laid down, and curled up within the covers if the sleeping bag, leaving all his concerns and uncertainties for his future self to deal with.

When Emiko returned, she said nothing and just went to bed with a smile, because Noe was already sound asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emiko and Noe are also shown in the Inazuma Eleven Future trailer, being the nameless pink haired girl and strangely familiar mysterious boy! I have lots of plans for them, so stay tuned!
> 
> Edit: Fixed errors!


	4. Element Soccer?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the /real/ original characters start coming in, I'm sorry if that's a dealbreaker for some of you! I had to populate Kanon's world and the soccer club with some new people, and I hope to do it right- so to not become annoying. I promise you, these OCs will not be the main focus, they are just a needed scaffolding for this unfolding story to make it seem more real. Thank you for sticking with me!

His first day of school was pretty boring, as all of his classes were just going over the syllabus. But after school, Kanon shook himself awake as the final bell rang, and took off. He soon ran outside and into the giant soccer club building beside the school.

Kanon was delighted to see that the soccer club was more active now than it was this morning. He looked around for familiar faces, and saw Kumano and Shiratori talking to a thin and wiry man, who had a mug of what looked like coffee in his hands. Kanon ran over and said with a smile, “Kumano! Shiratori! Hi!” 

Kumano looked down at Kanon, and chuckled, “Hey, Kanon! Hope your first day was good… I'd like to introduce you to our coach, Mr. Nicholas Bridges!” Kumano gestured to the thin man before them.

Kanon looked up at his new coach. Kanon assumed he was nice enough, but he couldn't help but notice how exhausted he looked, and how scruffy he was. Not to mention his shoulder-length black hair looked greasy… He didn't have the build of an enthusiastic coach, that was for sure, and Kanon for a brief moment, questioned the validity of this man’s coaching licence. But that was rude, Kanon told himself.

Kanon smiled, and held his hand out to Coach Bridges. “Nice to meet you, Coach! I'm Endou Kanon, and I want to join the soccer club!”

“Ah, well, of course an Endou would want to play socce- woah! Easy, kid!” Bridges said, shocked when Kanon grabbed his extended hand excitedly and began to shake it vigorously.

“Yeah! I hope this year in the club will be the best year ever!” Kanon grinned widely and let go of his coach’s hand on command.

Shiratori had sighed slightly, Kanon noticed with his smile faltering. Maybe he was being too forward?

With a slight blush of embarrassment, Kanon said, “H-Heh, sorry! I'll go meet the other club members! Have you met them yet, Shiratori?”

“No…” Shiratori said, adjusting his backpack, “I guess we probably should.”

“Great!” Kumano exclaimed, patting both first-years on the shoulder, “They should all be in the soccer club room down that way! Go introduce yourselves, they'll be glad to meet you.”

Kumano shook Kanon slightly, and winked at him, “And don't worry about not being accepted in. I'm the team captain!”

“Wait, really? You're the captain?!” Kanon asked, his eyes lighting up again. Kumano only chuckled, and gently pushed Kanon and Shiratori along. 

“Go on, you two! Faster you get acquainted, faster we can practice!” Kumano said, waving the duo off, and then turning back to keep talking with Coach Bridges.

Kanon had no reason to argue. He and Shiratori exchanged glances, and then the two of them walked deeper into the building to reach the club room, where club meetings were to take place.

Inside, there were three other unfamiliar club members sitting at the fancy desks, facing each other and talking about something that seemed to interest them greatly. 

The tallest one was a rather large guy, not quite as wide and thick as Kumano, but still strong in appearance, he wore a folded bandanna on his forehead to hold back his shoulder length dreadlocks. 

The middle one had short, deep red hair, that looked rather shiny. He seemed tired, but interested in the conversation nonetheless at first glance.

The last one was a bit shorter than the other two.. It was a kid who had long blue hair pulled up into a high ponytail, and he wore half-moon glasses with chains connected to them, looping around the back of his neck like a necklace… Possibly to prevent them from going flying during a soccer match. 

“... And I hear they're building one of those huge stadiums here in the city!” The red-haired one said, “Really makes it seem more real, you know? Actual, honest to God, zero-gravity tech!”

The tallest one with the dreadlocks said back, “Man… I sure to hope it'll be open for sign-ups, or somethin’. If you can play soccer while flying,” he stretched his arms out like a bird for emphasis, “I want in on it, it sounds interesting.” 

“Ohoho, you bet’cha!” The one with the half moon glasses said, striking a proud pose before the other two, “Who would be more suited for flying soccer than me? Come on, name one person!” 

“Heh.. Now don't get cocky, somebody will punt you out of the air for sure! Not sure if it'll be me or not!” The red-hair said, giving half-moon a playful punch to the shoulder, who looked unamused at that remark.

Kanon felt Shiratori bump his heel with the tip of his foot, signaling him to stop staring and go introduce the two of them to the group. Kanon, startled by the light kick, hurried over to the group.

“N-Nice to meet you!” Kanon stammered, “I'm Endou Kanon, and that's-”

“Shiratori Shiryuu.” Shiratori completed Kanon’s sentence with a much cooler head. The other three club members looked over, the biggest one with the dreadlocks smiling.

“Hey, I recognize that name,” He said, “Did you have any siblings that went here?”

Shiratori did not respond to that question, instead he just looked away, and crossed his arms with a frown on his face. 

“Eh? Well, it's okay if you're reserved, too!” The one with the dreadlocks said, “I hope you'll come to like the club enough to open up a bit, newbies! I'm Isobe Joben, a third-year. You can just call me Isobe, though, no need for formalities.”

“I'm Ohira Kazuki,” said the red-haired one, “I'm a second year. Nice to meet you two!”

“And I'm Yoshizawa Maris! The one and only!” The one with the half-moon glasses said, “I'm also a second year, and dare I say pretty good at soccer! I'll teach you all I know.”

“Hey, Yoshizawa, chillax, dude. They just got here. Who knows, they might even be better than the great aerial kicker Yoshizawa!” Ohira playfully punched Yoshizawa in the shoulder once again.

“Yeah, and what if in zero-gravity you can't control where the ball goes? Remember, practice makes perfect, even if you're skilled.” Isobe said, smiling at the first-years tiredly. 

“Agh… Fine, stop preaching!” Yoshizawa swatted at Ohira, pushing his glasses back up with his other hand. “Quit with the hitting!”

“Zero-gravity?” Kanon’s eyes lit up excitedly, “What do you mean?”

“You haven't heard?” Ohira asked, “It's still kind of new, but it's huge soccer news! Last year, they finally managed to completely perfect zero-gravity tech, and make it small and sturdy enough to wear in boots alone!”

“They call it Element Soccer! It's a new subspecies of soccer, and they call it that because…” Yoshizawa gladly elaborated, his glasses gleaming, “While the rules are still in development as we speak, the boots can use the power of hitssatsu moves to even further power up the player and their movement through a completely 3-D space!” 

“It sounded disorienting to me at first…” Isobe said, scratching his chin, “But hey, it's the new age, it could be fun!”

Kanon grinned widely. Kanon was well aware zero-gravity technology existed, but he had no idea that it was being turned into a whole new kind of soccer. 

“That sounds amazing!” Kanon exclaimed, clutching his backpack straps with great force, as he was so excited at just the idea of high-flying soccer. “D-do you know if this school is going to get to do that?”

Isobe shrugged, “Dunno. You might have to ask the principal…”

The principal! Of course, that was his chance!

Kanon stood there for a moment to process what he was about to do, slightly zoning out. But just as quickly as he started, he quickly threw his backpack off and slid it against the wall.

“I'll be back!” Kanon told the others, as he ran out of the room as fast as he could. He ran past the other students, past Kumano and his coach, and out the front doors of the club building and made a mad dash back into the school.

Not many students remained inside the school building itself, only the other kids with non-sport related after school club activities. Kanon’s venture was therefore mostly undisturbed, as he didn't have to dodge around anyone. He headed toward the principal's office on the higher floor, slowing his run to a wheezy, but steady jog after running up the stairs. 

He approached the principal’s office, eyeing the “Principal Endou” electronic nameplate on the door. His father was the principal, Kanon thought, surely he'd listen to his requests! While reaching for the doorknob, Kanon stopped just inches short of it when he heard a voice inside the office.

“Change of plans, you say…?” Kanon heard his dad talking, “What do you mean?”

Kanon stood up straight, and pressed himself against the wall beside the door, not wanting to interrupt his dad, as he was well aware he was a busy man. Too busy to visit his mom’s house a lot of the time, actually.

“...Mhm… Okay.. Who exactly is speaking right now?” His dad asked, and it soon became clear he was talking on the phone. Kanon didn't hear any responses.

“Really… Element Soccer.. Oh, yes, I've heard of that, what about it?”

Kanon perked up, maybe he wouldn't have to beg his dad after all!

“...Yes, I know Raimon has had a rich soccer-related history, but I can't make anything certain, especially not when this Element Soccer supposedly was important enough of an innovation to draw ‘government interest’!”

Kanon heard his dad sigh, annoyed. Who exactly was he talking to?

“Fine… Contact me later then, over email. I'll consider it if I can trust your credentials. Goodbye.”

Kanon heard his dad hang up the phone by the noise it made being placed back onto it’s stand. Kanon stood there for a few more moments, in order to not make it obvious he was listening, and then opened the door.

“Hey, dad!” Kanon said with a smile. 

Kanon’s father, Endou Tetsuo, was a very serious-faced man, with his dark turquoise hair mostly gelled back, making him seem all the more professional. He was a bit hard to talk to, but Kanon knew he had a nice side. He agreed to take on his mother’s family name of Endou to preserve the legacy, after all. Kanon recalled his mother saying the reason she liked him at first was his striking, beautiful eyes, so she called them.

Tetsuo was sitting back in his chair when Kanon came in, suggesting he had been pacing while on the phone. His features softened slightly when he saw it was only Kanon.

“Hey, Kanon. How was your first day of school?” He said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he got situated in his seat.

“It was great! I met so many people, and I'm in the soccer club now! I actually came to ask you something about that… If that's okay with you.” Kanon held his hands together, smiling sweetly, hoping his father would hear him out.

“Oh really?” Tetsuo tiredly replied, “Well, let's hear it then… What do you want?”

“Some of the other club members I met… They were talking about a new kind of soccer! Element Soccer! It sounds so cool, where you fly around in zero-gravity! I was wondering if maybe, we could- Raimon could play it somehow?” Kanon asked excitedly. 

His father didn't look so excited. Upon the mention of Element Soccer, he sighed and rubbed his temples. Kanon stopped in his tracks, his face falling.

“I'm sorry...” Kanon muttered, “I mean… We don't have to.. I was just…”

“No, it's fine, Kanon. I was just thinking about that earlier, actually. I'll think about it, okay? You should focus on ordinary soccer first, it's only your first day and you haven't even had time to really practice. We have some good third and second-years who could teach you, I'm sure.” Tetsuo said, opening his laptop.

“Okay.. Thank you, dad! I hope we'll be able to play it somehow! I think they're even building a place for it in this city!” Kanon smiled a little again, now heading out of the office to get out of his dad's hair.

“Yup… Good luck, son…” Tetsuo called after him, before going back to work.

As Kanon walked back down the stairs of the school, he thought about what he had heard. Element Soccer had sparked some kind of interest within the government? Kanon wasn't any kind of expert at politics, but that could mean a lot of things for what was in store.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he took it out. It was a text from his mom! It read:

_Stop by Crossword’s lab on your way home after practice, he said he needed help with something. But have fun practicing!! :)_

Kanon thought nothing of it, and just replied to his mom with an “OK” and continued on his way. His dad was right, he had to learn the basics of middle school level soccer before he could worry about flying with a ball! 

Kanon ran back outside, and headed back into the soccer building next door to join the others practicing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Fixed some typos!


	5. Familiarity

First day of practice was rough. Kanon ended up leaving school exhausted, and his hands stinging. He knew being a goalkeeper was a tough job, but being told and experiencing it firsthand were two different things.

He gently flexed his fingers as he walked down the sidewalk, heading for Dr. Crossword Aruno’s lab. It wasn't that far from Raimon Junior High. Kanon idly wondered what Dr. Aruno could need his help with, and right after his first day of school, no less. The sun was already beginning to set by now, it had to be important.

Dr. Aruno was a family friend for as long as Kanon could remember. He wasn't exactly sure how he and his mom met, but they seemed to have been good friends for years. Kanon had visited him many times in the past, and was always amazed at how someone so young -only in his twenties!- could be so close to inventing time travel.

After crossing the street a ways away from the school, Kanon approached Dr. Aruno’s place, located at the edge of an ordinary neighborhood. At first glance, it looked like any other normal house. But, on the roof there were a plethora of various small satellite dishes and other fancy gadgets Kanon couldn't identify, which he assumed the doctor used to further his research on time and the secrets of the universe.

Kanon stepped up to the front door, and rung the doorbell. It made a brief buzzing noise, and from inside, he heard Dr. Aruno say, _“Coming!”_

When the door opened, Kanon looked up at Dr. Aruno, and was surprised at how… On-edge, he looked. His hair was messy and he looked so relieved to see Kanon.

“There you are, kiddo… I'm so glad you made it! I'm in quite the doozy here! Come on in, come on in…” Dr. Aruno said as he ushered Kanon inside.

“Intruder! Intruder!” Kanon heard a shrill, unnatural voice cry, and looking to the source of the sound, Kanon saw a large blue teddy bear bumbling about, attempting to swing it's paws in his direction, but it seemed very spatially unaware, and ran into a coffee table.

“Clark! Relax, there is no intruder- ugh!” Dr. Aruno huffed, and marched over to the squirming teddy bear’s side, and pressed it's nose for a few seconds, and then it went slack.

Kanon frowned, and put his backpack down. The last time he had seen Dr. Aruno, he didn't have… whatever that was. Kanon asked, “What's that thing, Dr. Aruno?”

Dr. Aruno replied as he pulled the teddy bear back up to a sitting position. By the way he used his full weight to tug it, it seemed very heavy. 

“Oh, this? I've been working on it off and on for months now, but recent events have made me more inclined to build myself a second pair of eyes for my lab!” Dr. Aruno said, sitting down in a nearby chair to catch his breath, “I call it, Clark the Wonder-Bear!”

Kanon was quiet for a few moments, hoping for further explanation before commenting further.

Dr. Aruno seemed to get the hint, and continued, “Er… It's a small side-project of mine. I'm trying to create artificial intelligence so lifelike, it practically has a soul!” he said, patting the now-docile robot bear on it’s head, “But for right now, I just want this hunk-a-junk to be able to walk properly and know when my gosh-darned house is being robbed!”

“Robbed?” Kanon asked, noticing how annoyed Dr. Aruno seemed, “Did you get robbed?”

“Yes! Oh goodness, my house has been broken into twice, and it hasn't even been a full week! The first time, a few days ago, some weird old guy in some old military-style getup came into my house, went downstairs, stole my data, and used my time machine to go who-knows-where!” Dr. Aruno exclaimed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his face with both hands, “I'm so stressed, Kanon… I'm sorry to call you on such short notice, it's just that…”

Before Dr. Aruno could complete his thought, Kanon heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned to the door to his left that lead to the basement lab.

The door opened, and a rather tall and lanky, older man stepped out of it. Kanon found him very odd-looking. He had a very long face and hooked nose, long blonde hair- half up in a messy pompadour. And his eyes were concealed behind small, circular black sunglasses. Kanon felt as if he'd seen this man somewhere before, but wasn't sure where.

The man started to ask, “Dr. Aruno… Is that someone here alread-”

Then, the man took notice of Kanon, and stared at him for a moment or two, that to Kanon, felt like an eternity. Then, the man broke out into a huge grin, and ran over to Kanon and dropped to one knee before him. Kanon flinched when the man put both hands on his shoulders.

“ _Endou!!_ It really is you! Gosh, I thought I'd be wandering this place forever without seeing a familiar face…” The man cried, “Maybe you can clue me into where I ended up!”

Kanon stiffened his whole body, uncomfortably leaning away from this stranger who seemed to know him personally. He couldn't find any words to say, and only ended up droning, “Uhh…”

“Killard! Back off the kid, you're scaring him!” Dr. Aruno sat up straight, and frowned at the man.

Killard frowned, and let go of Kanon. 

“Wait a minute…” He said, standing up, “You're… You're not Endou! Oh.. Oh no, oh no… Where am I…?!”

“I-I am… I am Endou, I mean, uh..” Kanon started, not sure what this “Killard” guy meant.

“Endou Mamoru?!” Killard asked quickly.

“N-No!” Kanon stammered, “I'm E-Endou Kanon! Endou Mamoru was my g-great-grandfather…”

Killard went quiet for a while, absorbing the information he had been given. Then he let out a distressed groan, and stepped away from Kanon. He covered his face, and cried, “Sweet God almighty… What happened to me?! Where am I?!”

Kanon nervously stepped over to Dr. Aruno, and asked him in a hushed whisper, “W-who’s that, doctor…?”

Dr. Aruno murmured a reply, “The second intruder. One second, Kanon…”

Dr. Aruno stood up out of his chair, and cleared his throat. “Killard. I brought you the only Endou I knew that fit your criteria. Care to explain yourself to the both of us, now?”

Killard turned around to face them both, and sighed. “Yes… I'm sorry I've been so secretive. It's just that… I, don't fully know all the details myself. My memories are jumbled… And some things I just can't recall… No matter how hard I try.”

“Memory loss, huh? Real convincing. I'm sorry, but my patience is at it's limit here, I've been robbed by another suspicious man in a old fashioned outfit similar to yours, I'm not falling for another one!” Dr. Aruno crossed his arms, “I only brought you Kanon here like you asked because then I'd have another eyewitness.”

“Robbed?!” Clark the Wonder-Bear exclaimed, getting to it's feet and looking around, “Where is the intruder? Intruder? Intru-”

Dr. Aruno pounded Clark on the head with his fist, and said, “Not right now, Clark!”

Clark fell back down on it's back, and wiggled it’s feet in attempts to keep walking. “I am Clark… Won-da-ba… The.. Won-der-ba- _TTZT!_ ” The robot’s synthetic voice started cracking as it malfunctioned. Dr. Aruno groaned, and knelt down beside it to silence it by holding down the button on it's nose.

Killard looked down, looking hurt by Dr. Aruno’s statements. He continued, “I know my story sounds very implausible, but… Please hear me out!”

Dr. Aruno stood up again once his robot was finally dealt with. He leaned on the chair, seeming to still be interested even if he was not on Killard’s side.

Kanon, however, wanted to believe what Killard had to say. Even if he seemed creepy and suspicious, he could genuinely need help. And he seemed to know his great-grandfather in some way.

“My name is Elzes Killard… I was finally able to confirm just now that I don't come from this time period.” Killard explained, “I knew I.. I warped somewhere, but… I wasn't sure where, or when… Where did I…?”

Dr. Aruno breathed in as if to cut Killard off there, however, Killard practically shrieked.

“By sweet Christ above! Oh no, oh no… I-I remember… I came from… A bad, bad place! They plan to travel to all time periods and take over history! A-And soccer, golly- soccer is their main method…” Killard rambled, tapping his feet and holding his head.

“Wait just a darned minute, there!” Dr. Aruno said, pointing a finger at Killard, “Did you say travel to all time periods?”

“Y-yes-” 

“I'm inventing time travel right now! And just recently my research data got stolen at gunpoint by some old man in a dusty old-fashioned suit which yours reminds me of!” Dr. Aruno stepped up into Killard’s face, jabbing him in the chest with his accusatory finger. Killard leaned back, with a frightened expression. 

“I-I dont-” Killard stuttered, however Dr. Aruno refused to let him speak.

“I bet you're with that guy, aren't you? What, have you not stolen enough from me?! World domination by using _my_ time travel data wasn't enough for you and your pals at wherever you came from?!” Dr. Aruno said, glaring down at Killard. 

All of this fighting was making Kanon nervous. He could take no more of this ugly language, and yelled, “Stop it! Dr. Aruno, get ahold of yourself!”

Dr. Aruno went quiet, and looked over at Kanon. His face softened, and he sighed while backing off of Killard. Killard himself, looked relieved, and smiled slightly at Kanon, as if to show his gratitude.

“Please, Dr. Aruno… At least listen to what he has to say,” Kanon breathed, “He could be telling the truth. You're inventing time travel, and someone stole it… He could be right, someone could be trying to take over history! With something so serious, we just have to listen!”

Dr. Aruno frowned, but didn't say anything. He just turned away, and started to think to himself.

Kanon turned toward Killard, and said, “Please continue… I want to help… Also, you said soccer is their method… And how do you know my great-grandfather?”

Killard took a deep breath, and said, “Yes… The place… The organization I came from… My memories are jumbled, but, they gained access to time travel all of a sudden… I… I'm sorry, but I don't remember why I was there… And how I ended up here...”

Killard paused for a moment, and then turned toward Kanon, "I know... That your grandfather got many of his early soccer techniques from his notebooks. And he even wrote a few himself, right?"

Kanon was taken by surprise by that surprisingly correct statement. His mother always told him that she learned everything she knew from some of Endou's notebooks. She had even shown him a few in his younger years- they were incredibly hard to read. Endou's handwriting was like chicken scratch.

Perhaps Killard really was telling the truth. Some people could've known Endou learned from his grandfather's notebooks... But even less could know he himself wrote some too.

“Killard,” Dr. Aruno interrupted, turning back around again. “Do you perhaps know a white-haired man, darkish skin, with a eyeball-looking tattoo on his forehead?”

“Oh… That has to be… Er…” Killard tapped his forehead as he tried to recall the name, “Baddap Sleed… He was the strongest soldier.”

“...Care to elaborate?” Dr. Aruno asked.

“Strongest soldier of the Ogre.” Killard replied, “He's a force to be reckoned with, even if he's only a young boy.”

Dr. Aruno frowned, and said, “Only a young boy? But the man who robbed me was at least sixty…” He scratched his chin.

“I… I really wish I could tell you everything… I feel like that's why I came here. I time traveled here somehow, presumably with the stolen technology… I guess in hopes somebody could help stop the Ogre’s plans,” Killard sighed, “But, it seems the trip has messed with my head. I know this must be frustrating.”

Kanon had no idea what to say. The logical part of him thought Killard was talking nonsense. Sure, Kanon wanted to believe him, but all of this sounded incredibly implausible. Killard was being too vague for his own good.

But, at the same time, Kanon suspected that he and Dr. Aruno simply did not have enough of the details to piece it together in a way that made sense; they didn't have the full picture. This man could likely be a time traveler, and if the thief had made off with Dr. Aruno’s data so easily thanks to time travel, they could possibly be connected. Their old clothes, and how Killard seemed to know Endou Mamoru almost personally, could be a clue that they both came from the past.

“I believe you, Mr. Killard.” Kanon said to break the silence. 

Both Dr. Aruno and Killard seemed surprised.

“If you're really saying history as we know it is in danger, then I believe you. Even if you don't remember everything. I'm sure we can stop them,” Kanon winked and smiled, “and if soccer is involved, I'm sure I could help out too!”

Killard grinned widely, “Thank you… That means a lot to me, Kanon-was it? I promise I wouldn't lie to you. Dr. Aruno, would you please give me a chance? I'll help you any way I can, and try to remember more details before it's too late-”

Killard turned toward Dr. Aruno to directly address him, however, Dr. Aruno had vanished. Killard gasped in surprise.

“Oh! He's gone again… He does that sometimes…” Kanon chuckled a little, “I bet he's off doing more research right now to see if what you're saying his true. Maybe his computer can detect interruptions in the timeline!”

“I hope so… I can just feel how unreliable I sound.” Killard scratched the back of his head nervously, “I mean… I do feel as if I'm forgetting something else, besides all that. Something very important…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back on track with the plot! I know this all seems vague and makes no sense... And while it might, I still have plans. I'm excited to reveal more as the story goes on!
> 
> Edit: Added some more dialogue to make it seem more believable at the end.


	6. The Manager's New Recruit

Noe awoke in a cold sweat. He gasped, jerking his arm away from whatever was touching him. It was still dark, and he was still pretty cold.

“Wake up,” Emiko’s familiar voice whispered, “Noe! Wake up!”

Noe exhaled, it was only her. He reached up to rub his eyes, and propped himself up on his other arm. He shivered, Emiko’s room outside of the sleeping bag he was using was very cold.

When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked over at Emiko. She was holding a pile of dry clothes, and she sounded very concerned.

“Are you okay, Noe? You were mumbling in your sleep.” Emiko asked.

“I… I don't know,” Noe said, “Bad dream, I think.”

The dream was already slipping away. Noe closed his eyes and tried to remember at least a little bit of what it was like. But, he couldn't, he could only remember vague feelings. Feelings of confusion, fear, and adrenaline rushing through him. He felt his leg twitch slightly inside the sleeping bag.

“What time is it?” Noe asked, yawning.

“Almost five,” Emiko said with a small smile, “In the morning.”

“Why.”

Emiko chuckled a little, “Well. Actually.. I wanted to get you up early because I've been kinda awake tonight too… To keep your laundry going. These are your clothes, that you, uh, came in wearing.”

She handed him the warm pile of clothes. Noe couldn't help but hold them close, the warmth was comforting. He had been freezing in the rain just a few hours ago, after all.

“Thank you.. Uh… do you think I could.. Get more clothes, or no?” Noe asked her, rubbing his eyes again.

“Oh yeah, of course! My dad is pretty thin, I bet I could nab you some if his clothes… If you're comfortable with that,” Emiko looked up and scratched her chin, “And also… since, well, today technically is my second day of school… I was thinking, maybe you could… Come with me?”

“Huh?” Noe wasn’t sure what that would accomplish. He wasn't registered for her school as far as he knew, so being there would only raise suspicions.

“I know, it's kind of a dumb idea, especially because, well… You've got no family, or memories, but!” Emiko tapped her fingers together, “I feel like that's better than you being here… Especially because… My parents are going to come home soon, I got a text from them that they're coming home early. If they see you they’ll flip!”

“Oh…” Noe had forgotten about that issue. 

“I'm not even sure where I'll keep you… What my excuse will be.. What your excuse will be, I… I can't just leave you in a janitor’s closet all day!” Emiko said, sounding increasingly more worried, “And when will I get you food? I have to go to soccer practice after school for hours…”

Soccer. That word struck a powerful chord with Noe, and he felt a burning sensation in his chest. He reached out to Emiko and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“Did you say soccer practice?” Noe asked her, wanting to know more. He knew something for once, he knew for sure that he liked soccer. He loved it… But why?

“Um, yes?” Emiko replied, “I'm the manager for the soccer club at my school. Why?”

“I… I’m not sure. I remember… I remember that I like soccer.” Noe looked down, pulling his hand away from Emiko. 

“You do?” Emiko grinned, “Wow, that makes things a lot easier, actually! Maybe you could join my school’s soccer club?”

“What?”

“Yes, I know it sounds crazy. But the club’s coach is a total pushover! He'd let a dog join the soccer club if someone asked him.” Emiko stood up, and sat on her bed, “So, here's the plan: I take you to school early, pass you off as a distant relative being homeschooled, have you join the soccer club, and… Hide out in the building, or something. It's a huge building, and it never gets checked thoroughly thanks to the good ol’ coach.”

Noe didn't care how absurd that plan sounded, or how its effectiveness relied solely on the irresponsibility of authority. He wanted to play soccer again- something deep within his chest was aching for it. It felt so familiar, but distant, like a nostalgic childhood memory he could just scarcely remember.

“I'll do it. Anything to play soccer again…” Noe looked down slightly, trying to hold onto the memories just barely surfacing at the back of his mind. Why did it feel as if he hadn't played soccer in such a long time? He felt himself shake, and leaned forward to hug his knees. A sensation of déjà vu washed over him, and it made him uncomfortable.

“Okay… You alright, Noe?” Emiko looked down at him and asked.

“I'm fine… It's just weird. Let's go back to sleep…” Noe laid back down on his sleeping bag, and pulled the flap over himself and closed his eyes. 

“M’kay…” Emiko replied, lying back down on her bed. “Be sure to wake up early. I'm setting my alarm just in case…”

Noe was hardly listening to her, instead he was trying to get his paranoid thoughts to go away and let him sleep. Not knowing what happened to him to get him to that bench, and only vaguely remembering feelings of his past unnerved him greatly… Anything could have happened, hell, he could've been suffering from amnesia due to extreme mental trauma, or something. Not knowing made him nervous, and the idea of finding out also scared him; it was a terrible cycle that ended up keeping Noe awake for an hour longer than Emiko. Eventually, though, his exhaustion allowed him to fall asleep, giving him at least a few hours of sleep to operate on the next morning.

Emiko’s alarm was loud and piercing, and served well to scare Noe awake. He sat up in a flash, nearly banging his forehead on the underside of Emiko’s bed frame. The alarm was shut off by Emiko just as quickly as it had blared, and Noe heard her get up and out of bed.

He had a feeling he shouldn't ask her questions this early in the morning, and watched her in curious silence as she groggily pulled her school uniform out of her drawers, and stepped outside of the room- presumably to change in privacy without asking Noe to leave instead.

Noe rubbed his eyes, and put his hand on Emiko’s bed to help lift him to his feet. He had begun to slip his socks and slightly-damp shoes back on when Emiko returned in uniform.

It was a rather simple uniform, with a plain white shirt and navy blue skirt. Her shoes, though, that came with the outfit, and also knee length socks, had a lightning bolt on the tongue, only partially concealed by the laces. Somehow the lightning bolt insignia seemed familiar.

Noe smiled tiredly at her, “Nice uniform.” 

“Thanks,” Emiko replied, equally as tired, “Where's my brush…?”

Emiko walked over to her bed and rummaged around in her bedside table drawer, until she pulled out a blue hairbrush with uneven teeth. She started brushing her hair, which then reminded Noe that his hair was probably a mess.

“I'll be back in a second…” Noe said to Emiko, who just grunted in response. He headed out into the bathroom, and got another good look at himself in the mirror.

He couldn't help but be mesmerized again by the look of his face- one that he didn't recognize. He leaned forward to get a better view, and delicately ran his fingers over his features. He gently brushed his eyebrow once over with three fingers, now really noticing it had a lightning bolt like shape- if you looked closely enough. 

Thanks to his leaning, his abundance of bangs fell into his face, and snapped him out of his staring. He flipped the hair out of the way so he could see, and turned the sink faucet on to wet his hands. He reached up and brushed his bangs up and backwards, making them resemble golden flames again. He did nothing with the rest of his hair, though. It was fluffy, shoulder length, and a mess, but it was out of the way. Noe did not like his hair in his face, especially not if he was about to play soccer; it just seemed inconvenient.

Noe jumped when he heard Emiko push the door open and call, “Come on, hurry up! We gotta go catch the train!”

“What? Train?” Noe turned around, and left his unfamiliar reflection behind as he followed her.

“Yeah, the magnet train is how we get to school. It’d take too long to walk!” Emiko hurried down the stairs, and Noe didn't have a chance to respond before she was digging through the closet inside the staircase.

Noe stepped down to the ground floor, and flinched when Emiko suddenly shoved a dark red backpack in his face. 

“Here, put this on!” Emiko said, and Noe did as he was told. Emiko shut the closet door and ran into the kitchen to start fishing out snack foods, and packing them into a brown paper bag.

“Is that-?” Noe started, only to be interrupted.

“This should get you through the day!” Emiko scrunched up the bag’s opening and ran back to Noe, packing what he assumed was to be his lunch into his backpack, then zipping it up for him.

“Now then, follow me!” Emiko said, grabbing Noe’s hand, “Act natural, and if anyone asks, you're my second cousin, and you're homeschooled by my great aunt, A.K.A. your grandmother! Your name is Noe Fujita! What's your name?”

Noe was a bit surprised by how seriously Emiko was taking this, but he was alright with it, “Noe Fujita.”

“And who are you?” Emiko asked again, with a confident smile. She picked up her own backpack with her free hand while she pulled Noe towards the front door.

“Your second cousin, and I'm homeschooled by my grandmother, who is your great aunt.” Noe replied, trying not to think too hard about the who-are-you question, in fear of dissociating again like the previous night.

“Great, now let's go to the soccer club building!” Emiko said, squeezing Noe’s hand excitedly. She opened the front door, pulling Noe along with her and shutting the door behind her. Once she had locked it with her house key, they were off.

Noe, as he followed Emiko back down the sidewalk he had traversed in the rain last night, couldn't help but feel excited too. This plan just might work. Surely, he'd get some memories back while playing soccer, since it seemed to mean so much to him. Then he'd be one or two steps closer to figuring out who he is.

Noe looked around, finding it interesting seeing the blue sky and feeling the sun’s rays. His memories were gone, yet he still knew the warm sunlight was familiar to him, even if the surroundings were not. 

He couldn't help but feel immensely thankful for Emiko. He had to be the luckiest person alive to come across someone so willing to help him in his situation that not even he fully understood. She was helping him even though it could potentially get her in huge trouble…

Noe almost ran into her when she stopped. He snapped out of his daydreaming, and looked at her questioningly.

“The train stop is up here!” Emiko pointed to a metal staircase, which lead to a platform above the ground, in which the fancy, raised train tracks he had seen the previous night connected to. The platform also had a bench, which was shaded and surrounded by panels which advertised various products and services Noe didn't recognize. 

He followed Emiko up the stairs, and they luckily did not have to wait long before the train arrived at the stop. It looked so sleek and clean, likely a benefit due to how it never seemed to touch the ground on it's raised tracks. Noe felt himself pulled along by the sleeve of his hoodie as Emiko paid what he assumed was the travel fee through a coin slot. The train’s driver was nowhere in sight, Noe assumed they were at the front car.

Emiko gestured for Noe to sit down in one of the seats. Wordlessly, he did so, and scooted over into the seat closest to the spotless window. Emiko sat down next to him, pulling her phone out to check it.

She didn't seem to feel like talking, and Noe was fine with that. He stared out of the window thoughtfully, and soon, the train took off steadily. 

It accelerated quickly, but wasn't so jarring to bring discomfort to its passengers. As it drove off to it’s next few stops, Noe found himself mesmerized in staring at the beautiful surroundings the train whizzed by. He had woken up in such a confusing world, but it still somehow seemed nostalgic, but with newness brought to it. 

“Noe, come on, it's our stop!” Emiko eventually poked him, hooking Noe back to reality. He blinked, and grunted in response as he stood up, and followed her out of the train.

She lead him across the street below, and to the school grounds of Raimon Junior High. For some reason, Noe found this place familiar, but he ignored it for now, and followed Emiko into the large building beside the main school building. Seemed a bit much for a soccer club building, didn’t it?

Emiko wasted no time, and once they were through the front doors, she waved and called out to an older man leaning against some of the lockers. 

“Coach Bridges!” She called, “I have a new recruit!”

Coach Bridges didn’t look like he was a coach, in Noe’s opinion. He appeared as if he hasn’t slept in days, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Emiko calling his name.

Emiko grabbed Noe’s hand and dragged him over to Coach Bridges, who promptly asked, “Ahah… And who is this, Emiko?”

“This is my cousin, Noe Fujita! He’s homeschooled, but recently he’s been interested in joining a soccer club around here. Can he join ours? Since he’s family?” She gave him the most convincing, innocent smile Noe had recalled ever seeing. 

Coach Bridges frowned slightly, but with Emiko’s persistent enthusiastic smile, he soon caved and nodded, “S-sure, of course he can join… I don’t see why not. I’ll make the necessary arrangements… Just, uh… Noe… Be sure to let your parents know where you are for hours every day, okay?”

Noe nodded a little, “Yeah, of course…” Noe wondered idly if he even had parents, because he sure didn’t know. 

“Thank you so much, Coach- You’re the best! See you at practice today!” Emiko started pulling Noe away, and brought him deeper into the building. Soon, they dipped out of the coach’s sight, and she started bringing him upstairs.

“I’ll get you a uniform, but for now I need you to stay up in the attic, okay? Try not to make it obvious you’re staying up there.” Emiko told him in a hushed whisper, and at the top floor, she opened a old and untouched-looking door. Inside was the attic, and it was packed full of crates upon crates, and other soccer-related paraphernalia. He saw a bunch of dusty, old awards on top of shelves, and became even more curious. 

“You make yourself at home… But not too much. Be like a mouse!” Emiko said, “I’ll be back with your uniform, okay? You’re about a medium, right? Okay!” She closed the door behind him, and Noe was left alone to his thoughts.

He explored for a while, looking at his surroundings, and at the dusty awards. He took his backpack off, and placed up against one of the crates near the far end of the room by the small window. He couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the awards, just left up here to rot; some of them were so caked in dust he couldn’t read what they were for. He spotted one in particular that interested him. Approaching it, he reached up to wipe the dust off of the name plate. 

“Football Frontier International”- it read- “1st Place”

Directly below that, it stated the year that it was awarded: 2011.

Based on what little knowledge he knew of this world he woke up in, Noe could tell that 2011 was a very long time ago. Yet somehow, that year rung in his head like a bell. Something about this trophy made his chest grow tight, like a bitter longing to return somewhere.

“What is wrong with me…?” Noe asked himself quietly, forcing himself to look away from the dust-covered trophy. 

He didn’t have much longer to muse over himself, as Emiko returned, holding a neatly-folded soccer uniform. “I’m back! And hopefully these fit you…” She noticed him standing stiffly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Noe said, “I’m fine. Thank you for getting me into the club… I think I really needed this.” He walked back up to Emiko, taking the uniform from her with a gentle smile.

“Of course, Noe! Anything to help you get your memories back!” Emiko said, “Now, I gotta get to school… When the final bell rings, put that on, and come down! I’ll cover for you as best as I can and introduce you to everyone! See you!”

She then left Noe alone to himself again, and he sat down on the floor and rested his head on his backpack. A nap couldn’t hurt… He didn’t sleep well last night anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a little longer to write than the other ones, simply because I feel like it's longer. Thank you for being patient!


End file.
